Walgreens enters home care joint venture

DEERFIELD, Ill. – Walgreen Co. has formed a joint venture with Vanderbuilt Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn., to expand its home care services in the region.

Under the agreement, announced Wednesday, Walgreens' home care division will work with Vanderbuilt — which the drug store chain said is a major patient referral center in the mid-South region — to provide home infusion and respiratory services.

The venture is slated to operate as Vanderbilt Home Care, affiliated with Walgreens Infusion and Respiratory Services. It will be based in Brentwood, Tenn.

"While the initial service provided by our joint venture is home infusion therapy, plans call for the addition of home respiratory services later this year," Paul Mastrapa, president of Walgreens-OptionCare, said in a statement.

Walgreens said the agreement is its fourth such joint venture and that it has similar arrangements with organizations in Idaho, Ohio and Oregon. The ventures help extend the reach of Walgreens' service area and give more patients access to home infusion and respiratory therapies, according to the company.

Vanderbilt also operates a traditional home health agency that provides nursing, physical, speech and occupational therapies as well as social work and private duty services, and it will support the infusion nursing needs required for home infusion therapies, Walgreens added.

"A joint venture with a company like Walgreens allows us to enhance the way we meet our mission by providing home infusion, respiratory services and durable medical equipment for all patients in the community," stated Laura Beth Brown, president of Vanderbilt Home Health Care Services.

Walgreens delivers home infusion, respiratory/oxygen and medical equipment services through more than 100 accredited home care facilities in 36 states.